


the world, in your hands

by glory_of_bygone_days



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu | Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War
Genre: ...happens pre-fic but?, Allusions to PTSD, Awkward Conversations, Canon Compliant, Canonical Character Death, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Relationship, a bit of denial of feelings going on but its very much Gay, arrives fashionably late without starbucks bc im poor, but it very genuinely ends with the comfort, but theyre. trying. also how is that a tag, themed around the loss of. a lot of things, unreliable narrator but lowkey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:06:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28486560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glory_of_bygone_days/pseuds/glory_of_bygone_days
Summary: In another situation Lachesis may have been slightly embarrassed, but when she puts her own hand above Ayra's and links their fingers together, all she can think of is howrightit feels.
Relationships: Ira | Ayra/Raquesis | Lachesis
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3
Collections: Fire Emblem Christmas Rare Pair Exchange 2020





	the world, in your hands

**Author's Note:**

  * For [amadeusofnohr](https://archiveofourown.org/users/amadeusofnohr/gifts).



> DISCLAIMER: this isn't fully betaed yet so there may be some erors (also please don't expect too much). i'll edit those in asap tho!
> 
> ...i feel a bit bad for using one of the most romantic parts in the summary but oh well
> 
> anyway! i hope you had a nice christmas if you celebrate and a good start into the new year, esteemed giftee! ..and anyone else who may read this  
> i cant believe i specifically got assigned this bc of my flagship and then still struggle... i was simultaneously trying to make this my first pure fluff ayralach and incorporate some of those prompts properly, which. you can find traces of but i sadly failed ultimately. nevertheless, i hope its still enjoyable to some degree at least! (i know i definitely enjoyed the opportunity to delve a bit into a possible "backstory" so to say and explore why i enjoy them together)
> 
> a big thanks to kiro and airlock for support + beta!!

_Inhale. Exhale. A steady breath is paramount for proper form. Parry from below, strike from above._

The frigid air Lachesis inhales makes her lungs burn and she hasn’t felt her fingers for a good while now. Just holding onto her sword is getting increasingly difficult, only exacerbated by her muscles screaming for a break. If this was one of her swordplay classes in Nodion, she would be inclined to do so, but…

_Draw the sword back into a protective stance. Focus only on your opponent, and- No! Keep an eye out for your surroundings, too, for you never know when an enemy will take the opportunity to strike._

What she had been training for all this time were _duels_ \- and not the ones that were anything but amusement for bored nobles. Never had she considered there to be anything beyond her future spouse being at stake. Lachesis had even gone as far as to claim that she would rather fight a war than marry someone who couldn't fit all her standards. Now, she can't help but bitterly think them the words of a spoiled child.

Because now, she's fighting a war whose purpose she can't seem to find, and rather than something so trifling as marriage, what she fears is closing her eyes forever before the day has passed. She fears the suffocating silence and unbearable emptiness that follows her since the loss of someone, something to return to. She fears the screams of those now unable to speak, sticking to her like the blood she can't seem to wash off.

Ayra lowers her sword.

“I think we should stop for today. It’s getting late, anyway; once the sky turns completely dark, it will be hard to find our way back.”

Lachesis has half a mind to refuse, but with exhaustion hitting her at full force all of sudden, she settles for a sheepish nod and scrambles for the cloth to clean her blade, Ayra soon following suit.

The silence that falls upon them feels… awkward. Lachesis is keenly aware that Ayra has a question on the tip of her tongue, gaze straying to her once in a while, but instead of giving an opening to ask, she busies herself with caring for her sword. The oil on the cloth sticks to her hand uncomfortably, yet it’s grounding all the same, a reminder of her inescapable reality.

The trek back stays silent all the same, with the snow crunching under their feet and light breathing being the only sounds audible. Lachesis immediately misses their spar; at the very least, it kept her occupied and didn’t invite her to _think_.

When they finally arrive she almost manages to escape to the safety of her mattress until Ayra points out the food left over for them, still kept hot. Even if Lachesis doesn’t feel like eating and even less like having company, outright refusing now would be terribly rude.

Especially because it’s roasted pheasant, prepared just the way she likes. Somewhere in the back of her head she still remembers telling Ethlin about her favourite food and even if it has only been a few weeks, it feels like a lifetime since then.

Ayra carefully considers one of the potatoes before putting it into her mouth and chewing thoughtfully. It almost had the shape of a heart.

"I know I’m not exactly first choice for things like that, but I hope you know that I’m willing to listen regardless. If… there’s something you want to talk about.”

A glance at the spoon in her hand, all Lachesis sees in it is grief and utter exhaustion. She glares at her reflection and somehow it’s enough for her to feel some _anger_ again instead. 

“Talk? What would there even be to _talk_ about? I have- I have _nothing_ -” By the _Gods_ , is she truly starting to tear up now? As much as she wished to just break down and cry until she has no tears anymore, such behaviour is wholly unbefitting for someone of her station. And even if there was a time and place for this, it surely isn’t now. While Ayra isn’t quite a stranger (Lachesis doesn’t dare to call her a friend when she isn’t sure if such sentiments would be returned) and most certainly not a subordinate, there’s something within Lachesis that rejects the idea of being vulnerable in front of her.

No, more than that, she doesn’t want to appear _weak_ . She wants to seem strong and reliable and knowledgeable. She wants to _impress_ and in another situation such a silly notion would’ve made her laugh. Now, it only makes her feel even more helpless. Is there truly nothing she can hold onto anymore? If only she were stronger, if only she had worked harder, if only, _if only she-_

“I know,” Ayra interrupts her spiraling thoughts. “I know.” It sounds exhausted, sad and defeated in a way that’s all too painfully familiar. 

Lachesis looks at her, at first confused, then her expression slowly melting into shock. Perhaps more so than Ayra's sudden vulnerability it was her own thoughtlessness that shocked her. Buried deep within her grief, still oh so fresh, she had never stopped to remember that she isn't the only one, not the first one to have to go through such pain. Hadn't it been for Ayra to lose all her family but one, her home, her name, they would have never met in the first place after all.

“What I mean is… if you need someone, I’m here for you. I know what it’s like to be alone like this, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Least of all you.” The last sentence is added so hastily Lachesis wonders if she was meant to hear it at all. “Just call me and I’ll be there.”

In another situation Lachesis may have been slightly embarrassed, but when she puts her own hand above Ayra's and links their fingers together, all she can think of is how _right_ it feels.

"...I think I like that idea." Because it means a future, _together_ , and suddenly everything seems just a little brighter. And when she looks up at the sky, this time she wonders who they may have been had they met otherwise. What kind of person, what kind of stories they could tell. Wonders about what will come out of the here and now. And for the first time since her brother's death, she smiled.


End file.
